Sierra Wireless has debuted the Linux-based Legato platform, which aims to simplify and accelerate the development of machine-to-machine (M2M) applications.

The M2M sector continues to mature with many operators and vendors working to make it easier for enterprises to both develop and manage applications. Sierra Wireless -- which is a pure M2M company these days -- focuses on the development with the introduction of the Legato platform at this week's Mobile World Congress.

The company has been working on Linux with OEMs for a couple of years, and Linux has been a pretty popular OS in the M2M environment, according to Larry Zibrik, vice president of market development at Sierra Wireless.

"Because of that what we are doing now is stepping forward to provide a Linux environment starting on our modules, but it can be used beyond that. The reason we are doing it is to get people to market quicker and giving them the tools to remove the complexity of wireless integration," Zibrik said.

The Legato platform is made up of three main parts. It's based on a Linux distribution from Wind River, which will also offer professional services to Legato customers, including customization, technical support and training as they try to make the most of the platform. There is also an open source application framework and an Eclipse-based development environment.

All these parts are already set up as part of the Legato platform, giving developers a head start and significantly reducing the time and cost to build their solutions, according to Sierra.

Legato is now in testing with handpicked Sierra Wireless customers and developers. The platform will be pre-integrated in modules from the company, starting with the AirPrime WP and AirPrime AR Series modules shipping later this year, it said.

At Mobile World Congress, Sierra Wireless also announced an agreement with Indian outsourcer Tech Mahindra to work together to develop and deploy end-to-end M2M solutions for enterprises around the world.

As part of the collaboration, Sierra Wireless will provide prospective joint customers embedded wireless modules or gateways and modems, as well as its hosted management platform, AirVantage M2M Cloud. Tech Mahindra will offer consulting and solutions integration services.